President Donald Trump, repeating the nickname he tabbed Sen. Elizabeth Warren with during last year's campaign, told Democrats in a Thursday meeting that "Pocahontas is now the face of your party," CNN reported.
Sources told CNN that the comment surfaced during the president’s impromptu analysis of the state of the Democratic Party. Trump made his comments in what appeared to be a reference to Warren's criticism of Attorney General Jeff Sessions during his confirmation process. Her comments, and her attempt to read a letter written by Coretta Scott King in 1986, prompted Republicans to invoke an arcane rule to cut her off.
Trump used his campaign nickname for Warren — a reference to the Massachusetts senator’s claims of having Native American ancestry — several times during the meeting, which one source described as "equal parts bizarre and completely awkward."
Trump also said the only reason Warren claimed Native American heritage was "because she has high cheekbones," one of the sources said.
The story was first reported by Politico.
Questions over Warren's ancestry surfaced during her 2012 Senate race, which she defended in part by citing the high cheekbones of her grandfather.
"She's got less Native American blood in her than I have, OK?" Trump said during a July rally in North Carolina. "Believe me ... She goes, 'Well look at my cheekbones.'"
Trump, during a Washington state rally in May, called Warren "a total phony."
About the Author
